


Tales of The Earth Kingdom

by orphan_account



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Drabble Collection, Earth Kingdom, Ficlet Collection, Legends, Multi, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Mythology - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-18
Updated: 2012-07-21
Packaged: 2017-11-10 05:30:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/462707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of fanmade myths and legends created to flesh out the mythology of the Earth Kingdom, which are heavily based on Chinese/Korean/Japanese mythology. Feel free to use these in your own fanworks, if you so desire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. How the Ostrich Horse Learned to Jump or, The Ostrich Horse and The Bumble Fly

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for one of my friend's pretty expansive AU Roleplays to add more flavor to the Earth Kingdom, much of it based on Chinese and Korean mythology. That idea eventually bloomed into a full fledged series of fables, myths, tales, and legends for the Avatar Universe.
> 
> This is also cross-posted on both my deviantART page, and on my Fanfiction.net account.
> 
> Enjoy.

Back before the ancestral spirits of man roamed the land and before the son of the gods - the Earth King - was sent down to guide them, only animals populated the gods' creation. They were imperfect creatures, flawed images of their creators, but they lived in absolute peace and harmony with one another.

One day, an Ostrich Horse - Mă Niăo - was drinking from a crystal pool, high up in the great mountains. After he had his fill, he stared at his reflection mournfully, just as he did everyday.

"'O, why!" He said, "Why were the gods so cruel? The dove has a beak like mine! The cat owl has feet like mine! The blue jay has wings like mine! But why can't I fly like them? Why can't I live in the air like them? Why can't I soar through the sky like them? I have everything they have!"

In his wallowing, Mă Niăo did not notice as a bumble fly flew into his clearing until it hovered in front of his beak. He looked up and gave a sigh.

"Another creation that taunts me so!" The ostrich horse wailed, "Why am I tormented?"

The bumble fly, noticing the other creature's plight, landed on his beak and said gently, "Why are you sad? Are you not healthy? Are you not strong? Are you not content?"

Mă Niăo blinked away his tears for a moment before crying out, "But I cannot fly! You, a free creature of the air, can never understand! You can experience the whole of the gods' creation, and I am but confined to these mountains! I am not meant to fly!"

"It is true that you are not meant to fly," said the insect, "but that does not mean that you cannot fly."

The ostrich horse fell silent.

"You have wings, and you are strong. You have everything you need to fly, but you've never tried."

Mă Niăo wailed once more and bowed his head in shame, "Of course I haven't tried to fly! I am not meant to fly! I will never fly!"

The bumble fly spoke into his ear before he flew away from the clearing, "It is the heaviness of those words that keep you from flying. Release those weights, and you will be free to fly as I do."

The ostrich horse watched the bumble fly go, and he thought on the insect's words.

"Could it be my doubt that holds me back?" He muttered as he studied his reflection again, "Are my words like weights as he said?"

He meditated upon this for a long time, never once turning away from his pond. At last, he came to a conclusion.

"I will try to let go of these heavy words." Mă Niăo said, "And then I will soar like the bumble fly"

The ostrich horse looked away from his crystal pool and cleared his mind of all negative thoughts.

"I can do this." he thought, "I can fly. I can fly! I CAN FLY!"

And, with a mighty spring, Mă Niăo found himself catapulted into the air, several feet above the ground. From there, he could see how small his crystal pond and his clearing was. He could see how large the bamboo mountain forests were, and he could see the vast plains off into the distance.

A few moments later, he landed back near his pond, only to spring up again and leap to the next clearing in the forest.

"I can fly!" The ostrich horse shouted joyously as he jumped from clearing to clearing, "I can fly!"

And that is how the Ostrich Horse learned to jump.


	2. The Rabaroo in the Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A slightly skewed adaption of the classic Chinese myth: "The Rabbit in the Moon".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continuing my series of Earth Kingdom myths, I've decided to take inspiration from the Chinese/Buddhist/Japanese tale of "The Rabbit in the Moon", whose culture I've heavily based my version of the Earth Kingdom on. I kind of messed around with the original story, so please don't get too angry with me.
> 
> All of the locations, animals, and flora mentioned can be found in the actual series, so I guess it fits in with canon.
> 
> I hope you enjoy.

In the great plains southwest of the mighty Kolau Mountains, there lived a mother rabaroo and her three joeys. Food was scarce, and times were harsh. There was barely enough food to feed three rabaroos, let alone four. And so, in the dead of night, the mother rabaroo took the youngest and weakest joey - Yù - deep into the mountains and left him there to starve so the rest of her family could survive.

When Yù awoke to find himself wholly alone, he cried for three days and three nights - his tears making a salty pool at his feet. He then slept, tired from his grief, for another three days.

He expected to die out in the mountains alone, but - on the sixth day - he awakened and discovered that a large sandalwood tree had grown where his tears had fell. Amazed by this discovery, Bipin began to frantically consume the tree, but he soon realized that nothing short of devouring it whole would satisfy his hunger.

Just as he was about to finish off the final leaves from the tree, an old man crawled out of the underbrush.

"Please," the old woman begged, "Please, I must have some food."

Yù looked at the weak old woman, and he thought about how hungry HE was until the miraculous sandalwood tree saved his life.

The young rabaroo hopped up to the woman and placed the remaining sandalwood leaves into his waiting mouth. And, with a loud cry, the old man jumped to his feet, an unearthly and fiery glow obscuring his figure. Yù recoiled in terror.

"Do not be afraid," said the glow as it engulfed Bipin in its warmth, "You have shown me a great kindness in sharing your prosperity with those less fortunate than you. I will elevate you beyond this world so that you might be an example to the rest of creation."

And so, the glow lifted him up into the heavens and cast his image upon the moon, inspiring countless others to follow his example of generosity for many centuries to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation: Yù -- "Jade" (The Rabbit in the Moon is sometimes referred to as the "Jade Rabbit")


	3. The Little Granite Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fairly faithful Avatar: The Last Airbender adaption of "The Peachling"/"Momotaro". Suggested by The Dark Door of FanFiction.Net

Many years ago, there lived an old couple. They had long wished for a child, but the spirits of fertility had not blessed them with one. So, with a sad longing in their hearts, they worked tirelessly in the mountains to fill the black space in their lives. 

One day, the wife was hiking when a sudden rock fall blocked her path. She was unharmed, and she spotted something in the rubble. It was a ball of purest granite -- perfectly round and of the finest grain she had ever seen. Thinking that it would sell well enough at the market to provide for at least a few meals, the wife brought it home and presented it to her husband, who was to set off to the nearest town the next day. The husband decided that the granite ball would be easier to sell in pieces, rather than all at once. But just when he brought down his hammer to smash the ball, it cracked open of its own accord to reveal a squalling baby boy.

The old couple decided to keep the baby boy, as it was the child they had always craved. They named him Huā Găng Shí Nán Háizi, Granite Boy, or Háizi for short. They raised him without qualm, treating him as they would a son of their own flesh and blood.

Over time, Háizi grew very brave and very strong. He also had a kind heart, and he saw how his foster parents lived in poverty. He knew that there was a band of greedy demons who had been plaguing the land for many years, and that they had become rich from their plundering. When the old couple heard of his plan, they initially were reluctant to let their only child to go on such a dangerous journey. But they eventually gave him their blessing and a gift of delicious pau buns. With his final goodbye and a quick prayer to the guardian family spirits, Háizi set out on his quest.

Háizi traveled in the mountains for several days before he came upon a hog monkey, who recognized him and said,

"Snort! Snort! Snort! Where are you going, Little Granite Boy?" 

"I'm off to fight the band of demons who plague this land, and I am going to take their treasure for myself and my family," replied Háizi.

The hog monkey caught the wonderful scent of Háizi's pau buns and asked, "That is the finest smelling food I've ever smelt in my life, even better than leechi nuts! I will travel with you if I can have one!"

Háizi nodded in agreement and gave the hog monkey one of his pau buns. With a new companion for his journey, he set off again, only to be stopped a dove calling out to him:

"Chirrup! Chirrup! Chirrup! Where are you going, Little Granite Boy?"

Háizi answered the same as he did before, and the dove offered his services in exchange for one of his pau buns. The boy accepted, and the motley crew started on their adventure once more. A little while later, an eel hound hissed to him:

"Hisss! Hisss! Hisss! Where are you going, Little Granite Boy?" 

The boy, ready for the eel hound's next question, merely offered the creature a pau bun in advance, for which it gladly accompanied him. With a hog monkey, a dove, and an eel hound in tow, Háizi went on his way.

Upon reaching the demons' camp, the dove flew over the barricade and the hog monkey pulled himself up over the battlements. Háizi rode the eel hound, crashing through the crude wooden fence. They battled the demons and, with the element of surprise, took their leader hostage. With no other option, the greedy demons reluctantly gave Háizi their ill-gotten treasure: fine silk gowns and gold jewelry, magical caps that could magnify a man's earth-bending tenfold, strange gems from across the sea, and an impregnable shield made from the shell of the mythical lion turtle. Háizi took all of these back home to their rightful owners, the rest going to his parents.

And so, the Little Granite Boy and his foster parents lived in comfort for the rest of their lives, peaceful and content. Háizi would eventually go on to have many other adventures, but that is another story.

**Author's Note:**

> Translation: Mă Niăo - "Horse Bird" (literal)


End file.
